Gold held as savings, such as gold coins and bars, is subject to zakat when it reaches the nisab and a hawl, a lunar year, passes over it. Scholars have a recognised disagreement about lawful jewellery kept for personal adornment:

1. The majority of Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali jurists exempt lawful personal-use jewellery, subject to their schools' conditions and details. Their reasoning includes reports from some Companions and treating jewellery as personal possessions rather than money.
2. Hanafi jurists and other scholars require zakat on it when its conditions are met. Ibn Baz and Ibn 'Uthaymin preferred this view, relying on general evidence about gold and silver and specific reports about jewellery.

Among the general evidence are the Prophet's words:

«مَا مِنْ صَاحِبِ ذَهَبٍ وَلَا فِضَّةٍ لَا يُؤَدِّي مِنْهَا حَقَّهَا»

Sahih Muslim 987, an excerpt referring to an owner of gold or silver who fails to give its due. The hadith continues with a severe warning. In another report, a woman came with her daughter, who wore two heavy gold bangles. The Prophet asked her:

«أَتُعْطِينَ زَكَاةَ هَذَا؟»

In meaning: do you pay zakat on this? When she answered no, he warned her of punishment. Abu Dawud 1563; graded hasan by al-Albani, while others judged it weak. Differences over the authenticity and interpretation of some reports help explain the disagreement; obligatory zakat on personal jewellery must not be presented as a consensus.

The calculations below follow the view requiring zakat on personal jewellery. Paying it is also the more cautious course for discharging one's obligation, while the recognised juristic disagreement remains. Gold held as savings or trading stock is not covered by the personal-use exemption. Someone seeking a ruling should consult a trustworthy scholar, not switch opinions merely to avoid an obligation.

The original gold nisab is twenty mithqals, commonly estimated today as approximately 85 grams of pure, 24-karat gold. In the report from 'Ali:

«فَإِذَا كَانَ لَكَ عِشْرُونَ دِينَارًا وَحَالَ عَلَيْهَا الْحَوْلُ فَفِيهَا نِصْفُ دِينَارٍ»

Abu Dawud 1573, an excerpt graded sahih by al-Albani. In meaning: when you have twenty dinars and a year passes over them, half a dinar is due. Half of twenty is one-fortieth, or 2.5%.

Some contemporary scholars differed over converting the historical weight into grams; Ibn Baz estimated the threshold at about 92 grams. The examples here use 85 grams of pure gold, a widely used estimate and the more cautious threshold for the beginning of liability.

Eighty-five grams of 18-karat gold is not the same as 85 grams of 24-karat gold. First exclude gemstones and separate non-gold fittings, then calculate:

Pure gold weight = gold-alloy weight × karat ÷ 24.

Using an 85-gram pure-gold threshold gives these approximate equivalents:

• 24-karat: 85 grams.
• 22-karat: 92.73 grams.
• 21-karat: 97.14 grams.
• 18-karat: 113.33 grams.

These figures are rounded. If your holding is close to the threshold, calculate its fine-gold content rather than relying on the displayed decimal alone. Ask a trustworthy jeweller about uncertain weight or purity; there is no need to damage a piece if a reliable assessment can establish its gold content.

Using the lower gold or silver threshold in some cash calculations does not mean gold owned by itself takes silver's nisab. Gold has its own threshold. If you also own cash or business assets, combining assets to complete the nisab requires further consideration; see How to Calculate Zakat on Wealth: Nisab and Hawl.

A hawl is a lunar Hijri year, not automatically a year starting in Ramadan or on the wedding date. If your gold reaches the nisab on 10 Muharram and it is your first zakatable wealth of that amount, its zakat date is 10 Muharram the following year. Gold bought with zakatable money already running through a hawl should not automatically be given a new start date; the original funds' hawl must be considered.

Combine the gold pieces belonging to the same owner, even where their designs, karats or storage locations differ. Convert different karats into their fine-gold content before adding them. A wife's, husband's and daughter's property remains separate; sharing a household does not combine their ownership.

An independent addition through a gift or inheritance has its own hawl considerations and is not the same as replacing existing gold. Once an owner has the nisab, a fixed annual Hijri date can be used to pay early on additions whose years are incomplete, rather than delaying amounts already due. If holdings fall below the nisab during the year, or ownership changes, check the circumstances; scholars differ on some details of continuity.

When the nisab and hawl conditions are met, one-fortieth is due on all the zakatable gold, not merely the amount above the threshold. You may give the required amount in gold itself or pay its cash value, as Ibn Baz and other scholars permit.

For cash payment, establish the ordinary market value of the gold content on the payment date. Normally, payment should be made when the hawl is complete, without delay. The obligation is an amount of gold, with cash paid in its place; merely calculating a cash figure does not freeze it at an old price.

Do not use the original purchase price or the retail price of a new piece with making charges and shop markup added. For personal jewellery, exclude gemstones and making charges. Trading stock is valued differently, as explained below.

Use either of these methods, but do not combine them and deduct for purity twice:

1. Pure-gold weight × the value of a gram of 24-karat gold on the payment date ÷ 40.
2. Gold-alloy weight after excluding stones × the value of a gram of that same karat on the payment date ÷ 40.

If you use a 21-karat weight and a 21-karat price, do not multiply the result by 21 ÷ 24 again. Ask a competent person to help value it; an unusually low offer from a buyer exploiting an urgent sale is not the ordinary market value.

A 21-Karat Example

A woman owns 120 grams of 21-karat gold after excluding stones, its hawl is complete, and she pays on time. Its pure-gold content is 120 × 21 ÷ 24 = 105 grams, exceeding the threshold used here.

For illustration only, suppose a gram of pure gold is worth USD 80 on the due date. This is not a current price quotation. The gold's value is 105 × 80 = USD 8,400, and zakat is 8,400 ÷ 40 = USD 210.

If paid in gold itself, the amount is 120 ÷ 40 = 3 grams of 21-karat gold, containing 2.625 grams of pure gold. Keep pure-gold grams distinct from the weight of an alloyed piece.

An Example With Two Karats

One person owns 60 grams of 21-karat gold and 60 grams of 18-karat gold, excluding stones, with both hawls complete. Their fine-gold contents are 52.5 and 45 grams, totalling 97.5 grams.

At the same hypothetical price, the value is 97.5 × 80 = USD 7,800 and zakat is 7,800 ÷ 40 = USD 195. Each bracelet or karat category does not need to reach the threshold separately.

The Zakat Calculator can help once weights, karats and dates are established and you have read its calculation method. Check the inputs so that gemstones are not weighed as gold and the same piece is not counted twice.

Diamonds, pearls and other gemstones kept for adornment are not gold or silver. Their high value alone does not make them zakatable when they are not trading stock. In a piece containing both gemstones and gold, assess the gold content separately for personal-jewellery zakat under the obligation view, as Ibn Baz explained.

If the piece is merchandise held for sale as a business, do not deduct its stones and workmanship as you would for personal jewellery. Assess its ordinary commercial market value at the end of the hawl and pay one-fortieth with the other business assets, without counting the same item twice.

Liability rests with the gold's owner. Jewellery transferred to a wife as a gift or mahr belongs to her; marriage alone does not require her husband to pay its zakat. He or another relative may volunteer to pay with her permission and intention for zakat. Gold that remains the husband's property is not assigned to her simply because it is kept in her home.

Pay with the intention of obligatory zakat to eligible recipients, such as the poor and needy, directly or through a trustworthy agent. Not every family gift or donation to a charitable project qualifies. See The Eight Recipients of Zakat: Who Is Eligible?.